A father's work is never done, either

June 15, 2011

There is an old saying that to my knowledge nobody has ever taken credit. "A man works from sun up to sun down. A mother’s work is never done." If I had said that, I would not want any credit for it either.

Why this anonymous person compares a man with the mother is certainly information that is above my pay scale. It is almost like comparing apples with horses. I like apples and I enjoy riding a horse occasionally, but they sure do not have anything else in common.

Right up front I will say that I honor and revere motherhood. As good old Abe Lincoln said, "All I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother." I think that is a rather nice way of saying how much he appreciated his mother. But, if you will permit me, I think good old "honest Abe" exaggerated just a wee bit on this point.

While I believe mothers have a very important role in the bringing up of children, it does not preclude the influence of the father. After all, most mothers will say to their children, "Wait until your father gets home!" Even mothers know that they cannot handle it all by themselves.

And while I will also give way to the point that mothers have a lot of work to do and it never seems to get done, such is the case with fathers as well. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

Take for example, the father's job of mowing the grass. That job never gets done. If the father has a wee streak of ambition about him, gets up Saturday morning and goes to the garage and prepares the lawnmower to mow he knows very well that he will never get done mowing the grass.

If perchance he gets the lawn mowed on any given Saturday, he knows, come next Saturday, if not before, the grass will need mowing again… And again… And again. An endless chore that never seems to get finished.

Of course, there is a positive side to this routine. When the mother of the household gets up on a Saturday morning and says to the father, "Honey…" [Every father knows that when he is being addressed as "Honey," there will follow a "to-do-list.”] When the mother of the house tells the father of the house what needs done that day he can simply smile and say, "Honey"… [Every mother knows that when she is being addressed as "Honey," there will follow a very good reason why he will not be able to do her "to-do-list.”]

"Honey, I would love to do all of that for you today, really, but the backyard needs to be mowed." And with a smile that stretches from Saturday to Saturday, he slowly sashays out to the garage and prepares the lawnmower for a day of mowing the grass.

Oh yes, a father's work is never done.

Then there is the matter of the father’s paycheck. On payday when the father of the household receives his paycheck, his heart is filled with jubilation, that is, until he gets home. When he gets home the mother of the household and all of the children standing behind her have their hands out for their share of his paycheck.

He looks at his family with a great deal of pride as he counts out, dollar-by-dollar, his hard earned paycheck. He had been harboring some hope that he would go bowling with his buddies this week, but by the time he doles out the weekly allowances he finds himself completely doled out. His only consolation is that next payday he will get another paycheck.

Oh yes, a father's work is never done.

Let us not forget vacation time. All year long, the father of the household works very hard at his job anticipating that weeklong vacation. He dreams about setting on the beach with his only agenda being nothing, an entire week of relaxation and exploiting the vigor of nothingness. It is the dream that energizes him all year long.

Finally, the week comes that nobody is more excited than the father of the household.

"All right, family," the father says, "let's all head for the beach."

"Aw, dad" the tribe of his household says, "we want to go to Disney World."

"Whose world?" the father sighs.

After the family votes on where they will go for their week’s vacation the father of the household, although he will be funding the entire week, is outvoted 99 to 1. "Oh well," he groans as he packs the car for Disney World, "there's always next year."

Oh yes, a father's work is never done.

Only one exception exists for this rule. That is our heavenly father. His work is finished in Jesus Christ. "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world" (Hebrews 4:1-3 KJV).

Hallelujah, His work is done.

(Rev. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Fla. Readers may e-mail him at jamessnyder2@att.net)